Kraimer stellar as Barrington downs Burlington
Barrington junior right-hander Cassidy Kraimer has paid her dues.
And now the Fillies are getting the dividends.
Kraimer continued to impress in her first season at the varsity level Tuesday when she fired a commanding 2-hitter in the Fillies’ 7-0 nonconference win over Burlington Central at the Fields of Dreams.
“She spent two years pitching at the lower levels on teams that were 52-1,” said Barrington coach Perry Peterson of Kraimer. “She waited her turn and now it’s her time to perform. Everyday is a learning experience. She’s got the potential to be very good.”
Kraimer was actually the teacher on Tuesday as she schooled Burlington Central (6-5), which had returned to Illinois after a successful 4-1 trip to the Warriors Southern Classic in Tennessee.
But BC couldn’t do anything with Kraimer’s offerings. Corti Neubauer beat out a tap in front of the plate in the third inning and Emily Bell singled in the seventh for the Rockets’ only hits. Bell walked to lead off the second, stole second base and went to third on Brooke Gaylord’s grounder back to the circle. But Kraimer struck out Burlington’s next two hitters. After Neubauer’s infield single, in the third, Kraimer didn’t allow BC another baserunner until Bell’s two-out single in the seventh, retiring 12 straight Rockets. She struck out 6 in running her record to 3-1.
“Normally I’m not as accurate but this year I’m feeling way better with my command,” Kraimer said.
It also helped Kraimer that the Fillies (8-2) scored all 7 of their runs in the first three innings. Barrington used 5 errors from Burlington Central to help the cause, including one costly one with the bases loaded.
With a 1-0 lead, Savonnah Osmanski led off the second with a single to right field. Maggie O’Hara beat out a perfectly placed bunt and Morgan Olszewski did the same, sacrificing the runners to second and third. K.D. Madden then reached on an error to load the bases and after Ally McLaughlin grounded into a force out, Kelsey Kazmier laced a double just out of Neubauer’s reach in center field, scoring O’Hara and Madden. When the Rockets threw the relay into the Barrington dugout with the Fillies’ runners on the move, McLaughlin and Kazmier were both waved home and Barrington had a 5-0 lead.
“We hit the ball fairly well and we had a little luck. That’s a good team,” said Peterson of the Rockets. “We have a ton of respect for their team and their coach. There’s a reason they went 4-1 in Tennessee. That’s a good team.”
Barrington added 2 runs in the third inning, both unearned after two Burlington infield errors set the inning up. Raegen Fingerman (2-for-3) had a hit in the inning and Olszewski’s smash up the middle drove in a run.
Which made it all the easier for Kraimer.
“I love that,” she said of having a big lead. “It’s so nice to know you can go to the mound and one run won’t be a game-changer.”
Kazmier and Fingerman (2B) each had 2 hits for the Fillies, and Krzysko added a double.
Gaylord took the loss for the Rockets despite not allowing an earned run. She struck out 2 and walked 1.
“The lack of putting the ball in play hurt us today,” said BC coach Cray Allen. “You can’t strike out six times against a Barrington. Every ball in play counts. You add in the four-base error and it makes it tough. 7-0 looks like a big score but when you sit back and look at the score book it’s only 2-3 plays.”